The instant invention relates to display devices and more particularly to a molding for displaying price and information tickets on retail shelving.
It is known in the art that it is highly desirable to display price tickets for retail items on shelving spaces immediately adjacent to such items. In this regard, a variety of shelf moldings for price tickets have heretofore been known in the art. For example, the U.S. Patents to Mapson et al No. 2,532,028; Singer No. 3,016,638; Forsberg No. 3,320,690 and Colmar 4,334,372 are illustrative of such display devices.
The patent to Mapson discloses a pivoting shelf molding comprising a hinge leaf and a price tag molding. The top edge of the molding is hingeably connected to the top edge of the hinge leaf and the body portion of the hinge leaf is mounted to the face of the shelving. In this manner, the price tag molding hingeably pivots at its upper edge. Price tags are mountable in the molding and are slidable along the length thereof.
The patent to Singer concerns an adjustable price tag mount in which the price tag may be changed without removing the tag from the display. The price tag used in this display comprises a continuous strip of flexible tape which is imprinted with a plurality of consecutive numbers. The tape is contained in a housing which has a window through which the tape is visible. Adjustment of the price tag is effected by sliding the tape within the housing. In addition, the housing is slidable along the length of the display.
The patent to Forsberg discloses a transparent insert for holding price tickets in a conventional shelf molding. The price ticket is received in the insert, and the insert is snap received into the shelf molding. The insert enables a plurality of different size price tickets to be mounted in the same size molding, and further prevents dust and dirt from building up inside the bottom lip of the molding.
The patent to Colmar discloses a price display device wherein the figures to be displayed are contained on a continuous strip of folded panels. The panels are received in adjacent channels in the display. In order to change the figures, the panels are folded over and received under the lip of the channel.
While the above described devices are effective for displaying price tickets, it has been found that it is also highly desirable to be able to store information and/or inventory code tickets adjacent to retail items so that store personnel have easy access to such information. It is preferable that such information and inventory tickets would not be visible to retail customers but would nevertheless be readily available to store employees.
The instant invention provides a shelf molding having an inner channel for holding product information and/or inventory tickets and an outer channel which hingeably closes over the inner channel for displaying price tickets. The shelf molding is preferably integrally formed as an extrusion and it comprises a rear wall having an outwardly facing channel, a front wall having an outwardly facing channel and a living hinge connecting the front and rear walls at their bottom edges. The front wall is hingeably movable between an open position wherein the channel on the rear wall is readily viewable and a closed position wherein the front wall overlies the rear wall so that the rear wall is shielded from view and the channel on the front wall is readily viewable. The top edges of the front and rear walls include an inter-locking lip arrangement which releasably maintains the front wall in the closed position. The bottom hinge arrangement enables the molding to be hingeably opened from the top so that the information tickets in the channel on the rear wall are readily viewable only when the front wall is in the open position.
The shelf molding further includes a plurality of different thickness spacer elements which enable the molding to be mounted on various types of existing retail shelves.
Accordingly, it is an object of the instant invention to provide a shelf molding having an inner channel for holding product information and/or inventory tickets and an outer channel for displaying price tickets.
It is another object to provide a shelf molding having an outer channel which hingeably closes over an inner channel.
It is yet another object to provide a shelf molding which is integrally formed as an extrusion.
It is still another object to provide a shelf molding which is adaptable for mounting on a plurality of different types of retail shelving.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.